Fake blog

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A fake blog (sometimes shortened to flog or referred to as a flack blog) is a marketing tool designed by a professional advertisement company to promote a product in a fashion one might find on a fan site or in regular blog entries. The purpose of such "flogs" is to inspire viral marketing or create an internet meme which generates traffic and interest in a product disproportionate to the interest a company could generate using the same budget on traditional means of advertising, much the same as astroturfing (a "fake grassroots" campaign).

Flogs pretend to be one or more people writing a blog out of pure enjoyment or enlightened self-interest, when in reality the whole blog is a carefully crafted piece of advertising. The person may be real, but usually isn't. Flog is often applied to corporate blogs or those written by politicians, where the public relations department or aides do the blogging. Generally, a website pretending to be a blog but actually the creation of public relations firms, the mainstream media, or professional political operatives. For example, Talon News was a "fake blog", created to attempt to grab the focus from real blogs and insert government spin into the online community.

[edit] Notable Flogs

4Railroads & Mcdmillionwinner, blogs created by "Stanley Smith" and Marcia Schroeder (a real winner in 2004, but who had nothing to do with writing the blog). Both were pulled shortly after being exposed.

Walmarting Across America, written by two Walmart "enthusiasts" who decided to journey across America in a RV and blog about the experience as they visited Walmarts along the way. While the two people actually did travel across America for the purpose of this blog, it was revealed to be payed for by Walmart.^[1]

All I want for Xmas is a PSP, purported to be written by a group of kids who wanted to get a friend's parents to buy him a PSP. Exposed due to the domain registration, as well as a post admitting the blog was fake shortly before the site and all of it's contents were pulled down.